I started prepping the boat for the big " Bay of Quinte Cruise of 2014" and tested the new Tiller pilot ( Raymarine T1000) that I had installed. I tried out the banked on sails now (I got removed my roller furling because of trust issues) and was very happy with the results. It's nice to return to simple things that work without worry. Roller furling is a convenience item that performs a task that most sailors hate...going out on the bow to take down sails. Myself....I would rather go out and take down the sail easily...than deal with a jammed furler when it's blowing 30 knots...just my personal preference.
My buddy Adam picked me up on Thursday morning , May 28 at the crack of dawn and we loaded the dinghy that I built last year into his truck and headed for the marina in Newcastle.
We were on the water and headed for The Murray Canal entrance about 45 nautical miles east of Newcastle.
We arrived too late to transit the canal...there are two swing bridges to go through and they only operate from 8:30 am to 4:40 pm...so having some time to kill we tied up and made dinner and listened to the hockey game.
The Next Morning we were up early and had breakfast and headed down the canal to the first bridge ... "Brighton Road Bridge". We got there a little early so we docked and waited for the bridge master to arrive, which he did shortly thereafter. He swung the bridge for us and away we went down the five mile long canal to the next bridge...The "Carrying Place Bridge". The bridge master swung the bridge for us as we neared and we exited the Murray Canal into "The Bay of Quinte" near Trenton.
We raised the sails and had a great sail down throughout the bay until we neared Belleville and pulled into the marina for lunch. We tied up to the Government Dock ...free of charge I might add.... and spent a couple of hours cooking and eating lunch before casting off and sailing again across " Big Bay". We neared "Quinte Point " and decided to find a spot to anchor for the night so we hopped into a small bay behind the point and dropped the hook in 10 feet of water. The new "Rocna 10 " set instantly and we backed down on it with 120 feet of rode payed out and never even budged. This is a great anchor!!!
Adam and I decided to have a swim and see how chilly the water was after such a long winter... we were surprised at how warm ( now lets just say that warm is not really a correct description but ...) the water was... it was just above freezing :) Oh well ... it felt good to have the first swim of the season... it's been a long time since the water was swimmable !! I got up often to check on the anchor and make sure we weren't dragging and sat and watched the stars for a while.
The next morning was Saturday and we were on a schedule to get back through the Murray Canal before the last swing of the bridge at 4:40 pm so away we went and started the journey back home. We made it throughout the canal by 2:00pm and went out through Presquile Bay and around the lighthouse. There was a beautiful breeze and we passed a bunch of sailboats racing so we thought it was going to be a fine sailing day. Strangely enough...there was not a breath of wind outside the bay and into Lake Ontario. We turned on the little Yanmar engine and motored for 9 hours ...all the way back to Newcastle.
We arrived at Newcastle at about 11:00 pm and here's the last of the suns rays going down on Lake Ontario at 8:46 pm. It was dark when we got in but I felt my way into the harbour ... without any knowledge of this harbour I wouldn't have chanced it ...but it's Cork's home and we knew the way.
This ended the early season cruise of Cork to the " Bay of Quinte" for 2014. Adam had a great time sailing and is now a convert to the cruising life!!!! He told me that this was the best trip he's ever had. I'm glad that he enjoyed it and he was a fantastic guest/ crew and is welcome aboard Cork anytime.
Well that was one of.. I hope ... many adventures of Cork.
See You On The Water!!
Tom
S/V Cork
